The metaverse: the internet of new experiences.

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An interesting concept: the metaverse. This future vision of interconnected virtual worlds. A digital ecosystem. The mirror of the real world where at the same time the laws of the physical world do not apply. Our post reality experience. Probably a lifelike simulation of our current world but also a world full of new possibilities. 

It appears to be the final step in the digitization of our habitat and identity. The ultimate form of a digital environment.

My thesis from my last newsletter was: what if we stopped building the metaverse? A provocative thought. This may have left the impression that I am merely critical of the metaverse. But I'm not. I do think it is okay to look at it realistically. At what it is, perhaps can become, and what we find a desirable outcome. Important to look at the added value of the metaverse.

Right now, I see the added value of the metaverse mainly in having new experiences. To me, the metaverse is "the internet of new experiences".

Probably in the future in the metaverse you will be able to practice with new looks, new identities, new behavior. Specifically, in the metaverse you will probably have multiple identities. Think of it somewhat like your identity on LinkedIn, Instagram, Tinder. Everywhere you are you' re a little bit of a different person with different behavioral patterns. Just like you are a little bit 'someone else' when with your parents, partner or with your colleagues. What you "play" in different roles in VR, you integrate into your real inner world. 

So, the added value of being present in an immersive connected virtual world is being able to experiment with a new identity, a new look and new behavior. In different virtual worlds, with different avatars. 

Thus, you can also have new experiences. And you can practice, for example, doing something you normally find stressful. Making contact with strangers. Standing up for yourself assertively. 

Experimenting with behavior you normally fear. Speaking in public is, of course, a familiar example. Practicing new behavior in order to have new experiences and change as a person. I am convinced that immersive experiences lead to conscious and unconscious behavioral changes. 

You can also start collaborating with others in a three-dimensional environment. In some cases better than in MS Teams or Zoom because information complexity can be handled better in a three-dimensional environment. You can view multiple streams of information side by side, for example. Or view something in 3D. Collaboration in the metaverse is an obvious usecase. Not just focused on plain information, but on experiential learning. Learning by doing. 

So whereas today we still meet physically or in a video meeting, in the future we might say: meet me in the metaverse.

Or you could have new colleagues experiencing operating a new machine. Without the danger of breaking the machine or hurting themselves. Because that which is dangerous in the real world, can be done in the virtual world. 

Dangerous and stressful situations can be simulated in a way that prepares these workers for real-life situations without any real danger.

Or doing something that would be seen as undesirable in the physical world. Or behavior that might hurt others. Think practicing violent behavior toward fake avatars or experimenting with sexual fantasies that couldn't be done in the real world. The three-dimensional virtual world as a space for new experiences. 

There will be many opportunities for entertainment -think bungee jumping off a building or skydiving. Experiences you would normally consider too risky or too costly, but find valuable to experience.

In the metaverse of the future, you can attend a concert from a pop artist that you might not normally have time (because it's in another country) or money to attend in the physical world.

Also, immersive technologies allow us to almost literally crawl into another person's skin and experience the world from that other person's perspective. Immersive technologies can therefore contribute to empathy and mutual understanding. 

Perhaps you can relive a traumatic event from your past in an imitation of the real world in order to heal your inner wounds. 

You can create a soothing, calming environment in virtual reality. Without too many stimuli, but with the right guidance, meditation, sounds, video images to make you delightfully calm. That's another way you can have new experiences.

In the metaverse, I think there will be plenty of opportunities to use digital tools to expand your state of consciousness, for example; similar to drug use. Think audiovisual input (combined with breathing I would imagine). But without the risks.

So these are some use cases of the metaverse in the future. It's the internet of new experiences. Do you have any ideas? Let me know in the comments!